UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – January 31, 2013 – NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” has finished #1 in viewers 18-49 and total viewers versus its ABC and CBS time-slot competition for the week of January 21-25, despite the highest-rated night yet for ABC's 11:35 p.m. ET edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Note that Monday results are excluded from the week's averages due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and that CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" was in rebroadcast last week.

For the week, “Tonight” topped “Kimmel” in viewers 18-49 by a 4 percent margin (with 999,000 viewers vs. 956,000 for “Kimmel”), while both shows rounded to a 0.8 rating in that demo. In total viewers, "Tonight" out-delivered "Kimmel" by a 24 percent margin (3.529 million vs. 2.855 million). Thursday's edition of "Kimmel," which featured Matt Damon and such guest stars as Andy Garcia, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Kidman, Demi Moore, Robin Williams and Sarah Silverman, earned the highest 18-49 and total-viewer results for "Kimmel" so far in its three weeks in the 11:35 p.m. ET slot.

At 12:35 a.m. ET last week, rebroadcasts of "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" also ranked #1 versus the ABC and CBS competition in 18-49 viewers. The “Late Night” encores beat ABC's original "Nightline" for the week in their head-to-head half-hour by a 12 percent margin in 18-49 (with 615,000 viewers vs. “Nightline’s” 550,000 in the 12:30-1 a.m. ET half-hour). "Late Night" encores topped CBS's "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" rebroadcasts in adults 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54, total viewers and most other key categories.

"Tonight" hit a three-week high in total viewers, with its 3.5 million being the show's top average since New Year's week.

WEEKLY AVERAGES

(According to in-home viewing figures from Nielsen Media Research for the week of January 21-25. Ratings reflect “live plus same day” data from Nielsen Media Research unless otherwise noted. Season-to-date figures are averages of “live plus seven day” data except for the two most recent weeks, which are “live plus same day.”)

Yes, it is an old issue, and a minor point. But remember, Leno was averaging 1.2 (I think) when he left. When he came back, he did not do near as well. You cannot deny that the damage to his reputation hurt his ratings and compared year-to-year with Conan’s Tonight Show, Leno did not do as well in part because of it. My point is that in regards to public opinion of Leno, the public is quicker to forget the whole NBC fiasco when Conan is doing a show for TBS.

anonymous

From the overnights —

Last Thursday: Scandal 2.7 and Kimmel 1.0
Last night: The Bachelor 2.6 and Kimmel 0.7

It appears that Kimmel is starting to lose traction and can not even make use of a massive lead-in advantage.

Aaron

How is Kimmel doing compared to Conan at 11:30?

Gary Middleton

Anonymous, I think anyone who is still hanging onto the 2010 scandal at this point left Leno’s building a long time ago.

But it’s not hard to make the case that most of Leno’s drop had little if anything to do with the controversy. When Jay left in 2009, NBC 10 pm would routinely do close to 2.5 in the demo on a weekly basis. When Jay returned, that was nearly cut in half.

Leno had been falling by around a tenth of a point a year anyway as his audience was aging. 0.9 for his comeback year was a reasonable conclusion even in the absence of any kind of controversy.

Gary Middleton

“How is Kimmel doing compared to Conan at 11:30?”

Aaron, Kimmel probably lapped him easily in that half hour last week (.85 to .4 or something like that). In a better Conan week maybe it was .85 to .6.

Neal

Monikka, so true! Team Coco has shrunk to the point they could all fit in a garage!

Bonnie, Leno is still the king. He still delivers a monologue better than anyone else. Even Letterman said that!

bonnie blue

Guys, what’s the website that shows the overnight ratings? I lost track of it. Neal, yes, Leno is still the king … A couple of the big TV reviewers were on CNN when Kimmel started at 11:30, and were discussing the late-night battles. One of them said that no matter what you hear out of the mouths of the other comedians dissing Leno, that any of them would give a body part to be in his position! I think that’s about right!

Aaron

Neal, Monikka hasn’t been so kind to you either when it comes to your fanboyism.

Neal

Aaron, the truth hurts huh? No one mentions Conan anymore and very few watch him on that wasteland TBS.

Aaron

How do you know that no one watches him? A lot of his fanbase is young, so they watch him online. He has a pretty big following online.

Diana Santiago

Aaron, don’t feed the trolls. Some people can’t see past their chin.

bonnie blue

Do we have to get nasty with each other? I say “why?” Diana, Aaron … isn’t this site about TV ratings? I believe it’s top TV ratings that are the most highly coveted ones, and the ones we mainly discuss here. I don’t dislike anybody here, don’t really know you.

I will never understand where some people’s venom for Jay comes in … the network chose him over Letterman so Letterman should hate the network. The network screwed up in their handling of Jay and Conan, so hate the network; it wasn’t Jay’s fault that the network arranged for him to leave when he was #1 … still the dumbest move in the history of late-night.

I never disliked Conan, Kimmel, Letterman until they were so absolutely horrible toward Jay over just accepting/keeping a job (which never should have been taken from him in the first place), a move that I believe they would have made themselves in a NY minute. It’s easy to say what someone should do when you’re not in their shoes.

The name of the game is ratings, always will be, and comedians with niche audiences will not do as well as Leno. It is what it is, so far as I xan see.

Aaron

Bonnie, I’m not trying to get nasty with you. It just seems like you and Neal slam whoever likes Conan.

bonnie blue

Aaron, I respect everyone’s right to like who they like. It’s actually Conan that I mean to slam because I don’t think he’s handled himself in a way that I can respect. You feel differently, and that’s your business. Peace …